Big Mo's Blog

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 11/25/2012

by Big Mo,posted Nov 29 2012 12:17AM

Rihanna scores her first chart-topping album with "Unapologetic," while Nicki Minaj's repackaged sophomore album fails to make a dent on the charts.

After a handful of veterans cracked last week's chart, this week sees a crop of newer artists holding it down on the Top 200. While it may seem hard to believe that Rihanna is yet to score a number one album, she accomplished just that with Unapologetic, her seventh album in seven consecutive years.

Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj's re-release of her sophomore album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded The Re-Up, failed to match her expectations and missing the Top 25. The LP debuted at No. 26 on the charts, perhaps a confirmation of her concerns that the sales would reflect the album not being offered in certain retail outlets.

Finally, R&B singers had a strong week on the chart. Keyshia Cole's latest album Woman To Woman had a healthy debut at No. 10 with 96,000 sold, while Ne-Yo and The Weeknd kept on strong with R.E.D. and Trilogy, respectively holding ground at No. 31 and 32.

Rihanna Is Unapologetic About Topping The Charts

It's taken Rihanna seven consecutive years of dropping albums annually, but she finally managed to crown the charts with her latest offering Unapologetic. Featuring guest appearances from Future, Eminem and David Guetta, the LP tops the chart with 238,000 copies sold, bolstered by a performance slot on Saturday Night Live and her number one single "Diamonds." The numbers are solid for the Bajan crooner, whose last album Talk That Talk sold 198,000 copies in its first week and was later certified platinum.

Nicki Minaj seemed to have it all figured out with the re-release of her sophomore album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded The Re-Up. That is, until she made an appearance on a New York City radio show explaining that the LP wasn't going to do well on account of certain retail giants neglecting the project. Consequently, the album, which features eight new tracks, bumped up from No. 95 to 26 on the chart, selling only 36,000 copies in its first week. The repackage also features guest appearances from Cassie, Ciara and Lil Wayne.